Fervor Coulee Bluegrass Blog

New Songs from Chris Jones & the Nightdrivers

Donald Teplyske  |  September 10, 2012

Word comes to the Fervor Coulee Bluegrass inbox today that a digital 45 is on its way from one of the most impressive bluegrass bands working the circuit.

Chris Jones & the Nightdrivers (or is that the Night Riders, Night Raiders, or Backcountry?) drop their new single If That Was Love 'backed' by the C.W. McCall song Wolf Creek Pass to radio September 11. The song will be premiered early in the a.m. that day on Kyle Cantrell's program on Sirius/XM's Bluegrass Junction during the 6 a.m. (mountain) hour.

Which means, I need to be out of bed early as I am very interested in hearing these new tracks as they follow up what may have been Jones' most successful song yet, Final Farewell, a tune that either topped or spent considerable time near the top of every bluegrass chart I follow. The songs will be available for digital purchase beginning September 25.

As I'm not within the inner circle of the bluegrass biz, I haven't yet heard either song, but I'm trusting I won't be disappointed. If That Was Love was written by Jones and his long-time collaborator Jon Weisberger while Wolf Creek Pass is a truck-driving song that apparently almost made the country top ten but wasn't played anywhere near my listening range in 1974; I'm hoping the Nightdrivers (along with guests Jeremy Garrett, Sierra Hull, and Claire Lynch) have done some magic with it, because the McCall version that I just heard on YouTube is pretty shaking.

Tune into the satellite radio Tuesday morning to be among the first to hear new music from Chris Jones & the Nightdrivers.